


For Your Precious Sake

by Everdistant



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: F/F, you could tag this yumi/kuriyo too if you wanted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-28 21:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16250219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Everdistant/pseuds/Everdistant
Summary: Overwhelmed with nerves about the future, Hibiki and Tsubasa spend a long, meandering day together, talking to Hibiki's friends along the way. Maybe they'll come to some kind of realization about themselves? Maybe Yumi will eat all their food? Who's to say.





	For Your Precious Sake

**Author's Note:**

> For your precious sake,  
> Once my eager life itself  
> Was not dear to me.  
> But now it is my heart's desire  
> It may long, long years endure.

When Hibiki wakes up, it all washes over her at once.

It's been maybe a month since the end of it all, since the fight with Adam, and it's still weighing on her. Adam's last words. The whole 'became a God' thing. Germain and the others, and when she gets to that last thought there's this lump in her throat that won't go away. She sits up in her futon, reaches up to run her hand through her hair.

There's a weight pushing down on her, invisible but there, thoughts and bad memories and things she should have done racing through her mind.

She's had plenty of mornings like this, for the past few years, ever since she got Gungnir - ever since the Concert, proper noun, she means - but it feels like they've been happening more and more, lately.

It's like there's something unfinished. Or something she can't figure out the words for. She had so much power back then, and it still wound up like this. She falls back into her futon, rolls over to the side, blankets balling up around her, takes a deep breath. It's cold comfort, partly because her room is literally cold, and she rolls around a bit more before sitting right back up.

Her blankets are gonna be so wrinkled when she gets back, but she scoots her way out of them, slaps her face with her hands as she walks over to the bathroom. Some water in her face, go back to her room to change into a hoodie and shorts, tiptoe past her mom's room, put on her sneakers, and she's out the door.

She's going for a jog, because that usually takes her mind off these things. The first thing she notices when she gets out the door is how early it is. The sun's still rising. The sky's a bright orange, fading into blue, and she appreciates the view for a moment as she stretches. She considers snapping a picture of it and sending it to the others, but she doesn't want to wake any of them up with a text. Well, Kirika and Shirabe are definitely up right now. It's summer break, and those two have the worst sleeping patterns Hibiki's ever seen when left to their own devices. Then again, she's about to jog at what has to be six in the morning, so she doesn't feel like she has room to judge.

She's going off on a mental tangent again. She stretches her legs out, rolls her neck, bends down to touch her toes. Stretching is super important, after all! And, honestly, the most enjoyable part of exercising. She's toned enough now that she can feel her muscles waking up to greet her when she does this. It's a nice sensation, and considering how hard she had to work to just be able to walk again, she isn't going to take it for granted.

Anyway! Running. She stretches out again, crouches down, then takes off, one foot in front of the other. She's still frustrated, but she pushes it down through her muscles. From her head, down to her stomach, across to her hips, then straight down to her foot. Her foot presses down into the pavement, and then she leaves that bit of frustration behind her. That's how it always goes, and it's not permanent or anything, but visualizing it like that makes it easier. She's always been a physical person. She likes the warmth of somebody's hand in her own, the sound of another person's voice reaching her ears. It's no different with how she takes care of herself. She wants something physical to feel like something's changing.

It's making her feel better, so she keeps at it, only keeping a fuzzy sort of time by how far she's gone. What feels like ten minutes fades into what feels like twenty minutes, and the lady at Flower is opening up shop early since it's the weekend, so Hibiki stops to talk to her.

By the time that chat is done, Hibiki's completely lost track of time, so she runs for what she thinks is another ten minutes and then turns back around. The other shops are starting to open up on her way back, and Hibiki finds herself drifting into the music store, thumbing through the new releases. She used to keep up with all the new idols, but these days she only really keeps an eye on Tsubasa and Maria's releases. The others have turned her on to some great music, though! Even if she has no idea what the growly voices in the songs Chris likes are saying.

She grabs a CD she's pretty sure Kirika mentioned once, pays for it with pretty much all the money in her wallet, then slips the CD into the pocket of her hoodie. She puts her hands in with it, so it won't fall out, then hurries back home. She's been gone a little longer than she meant to be, probably. And she knows her mom doesn't like it when she's out on her own this early. Which is both funny and sad, because Hibiki knows she can take care of herself but also gets why her mom worries so much.

She puts that thought into her foot too.

It feels like another half hour before Hibiki catches sight of her house, and the sky's so much bluer now. Her house looks a lot bluer now, too. Because there's a blue motorcycle in front of it.

There's also a lot more blue inside her house. Because Tsubasa is sitting at the family table, eating pancakes with chopsticks. The smell of her favorite breakfast foods - bacon, sausage, pancakes, and syrup - hit Hibiki, which is very nice, but also she. Why is.

Hibiki blinks, suddenly feeling like two very different things have crossed over. She's mentioned Tsubasa to her parents! As, uh. An upperclassman at school. And then a graduate that still gives her advice. Which isn't technically untrue, but she feels like wires are getting crossed in her brain.

Also, Tsubasa is leaning across the table to look at something Hibiki's grandmother is showing her. "You looked exactly like Tachibana," Tsubasa comments, and Hibiki realizes it's a yearbook. Why is her grandmother showing Tsubasa a yearbook from the 1940s?

"Tsubasa-san?" Hibiki asks, and Tsubasa grins over at her, broad and inviting. She waves Hibiki over like she's inviting *her* in, and Hibiki kicks off her shoes to pad her way over to the table, put her feet beneath the kotatsu.

It's nice, after a jog!

"You never mentioned you lived with your grandmother, Tachibana," Tsubasa comments as she takes a bite of her breakfast. She's eating her pancakes without syrup or butter, and Hibiki realizes she really is dealing with an adult here. An adult that's eating her mom's food. Hibiki would have stayed home to help her mom cook if she'd known Tsubasa would be eating it.

Not that her mom's bad at cooking! Just. Mm. It'd be nice to cook something for Tsubasa.

"Tsubasa-san, why are you here?" Hibiki blinks, and Hibiki's grandmother can't help but snicker at the bluntness of the question. Not helping, grandma. "I mean, uhm, what brings you here?" She tries again, but winds up sounding too formal.

"Mm," Tsubasa starts, leaning back, setting her chopsticks to the side. "Well, I happened to be nearby and wanted to talk to you. I realize it's a little early for a day visit, so when your mother said you weren't home, I said I'd come back later, but -"

Hibiki's mother walks in from the kitchen with a plate of bacon, sausage, and pancakes, sets it down in front of Hibiki with a smile. Hibiki grins up at her, bows her head in gratitude, then tries to retrace what Tsubasa's been saying in the meantime.

"... your grandmother wouldn't let me go," Tsubasa settles on, with an awkward grin across the table to the older woman.

"You're such a laundry pole, Tsubasa-chan! All lean meat. It's a good thing Hibiki likes hearty foods," Hibiki's grandmother laughs back. Tsubasa's grin only gets more awkward as she glances over at Hibiki.

"Your grandmother's very," Tsubasa starts, fails to find the words, tilts her head for a moment. "... nice," she settles on, even as Hibiki's grandmother tries to offer Tsubasa another piece of bacon. Hibiki can't help but giggle at that.

"I appreciate it very much, ma'am, but I'm most likely going to have a large lunch," Tsubasa tries again, but the piece of bacon winds up on her plate anyway.

Hibiki's grandmother even nudges it towards Tsubasa with her fork, grins across the table at you. "Hush, you. You could fit six meals a day in you, you're so tall! I swear, kids these days - the tallest girl in my graduating class was hardly any taller than Hibiki over there!"

Tsubasa looks across the table in a way that says 'help,' and Hibiki grins to herself as she takes a big bite of her pancakes. Sorry, Tsubasa. She's busy eating!

It's a good half hour - and two more pieces of bacon - before Hibiki's grandmother finally lets Tsubasa go, mostly because a drama she likes is coming on. Hibiki's grin turns apologetic as Tsubasa nervously removes herself from the kotatsu. She even looks over at Hibiki's mother for approval.

"Thank you for the wonderful meal, Tachibana-san," Tsubasa says, bowing her head deep, and Hibiki's mother looks more than a little surprised by the gesture. She waves the bow off, cups her cheek in her hand. "Don't you worry about a thing, Tsubasa-chan. You're a friend of Hibiki's, after all," she says after a moment, and once that's settled Tsubasa finally stands up straight. She stretches herself out for a moment, having been sitting down way longer than she meant to. Once she's done, she glances back at Hibiki.

"Are you done, Tachibana?" Tsubasa asks, and Hibiki's grandmother laughs from in front of the TV set.

"Ha! Calling her Tachibana like that makes it sound like you two are gonna get up to some trouble," she jokes, waving her hand. "Only girl that called me Tsumura was a proper delinquent."

Hibiki laughs a little at the idea, then realizes that, yes, she supposes Tsubasa is a bit of a delinquent herself. She does ride around on a motorcycle and get into fights, after all. "We're just gonna go down to the shopping district, Granny," she protests and Hibiki's grandmother gives another wave goodbye.

"We are?" Tsubasa asks, but Hibiki shushes her before she can get caught up in her family's rhythm again. Quickly, Hibiki sits up too, rolling her shoulders and leading Tsubasa back to the entranceway.

Hibiki messes with her shoes for a second, trying to step into them before giving up and sitting down, grabbing one to slip it on. "So, uhm," she mumbles, then tries again. "What'd you need me for, Tsubasa-san?" She tilts her head up at the older girl, finally popping her shoe on.

"-- Are you outgrowing those?"

"A lil'."

"I should have bought you some for your birthday."

"Ehhh, don't worry about it!"

Hibiki waves her hands, quickly, and Tsubasa lets the topic drop as she steps easily into her own shoes, leaning down to tie them, hair falling down with the motion. Hibiki - probably shouldn't be watching her tie her shoes. That's a little weird. She's watching her tie her shoes.

"Well," Tsubasa begins, and Hibiki jolts as she realizes she's been staring, scrambles to start tying her own shoes. "I suppose I just wanted to talk to you," Tsubasa finishes, trailing off like she's uncertain of it herself. There's a quiet moment between the two of them. Neither of them talk until they're standing back up.

"Then let's talk!" Hibiki promises, reaching to take Tsubasa's arm. "We can go - wherever, Tsubasa-san! I was feeling a little lonely myself, haha..."

Tsubasa looks down at her, sympathetic and curious, and Hibiki wonders if she was being a little too raw there.

* * *

 

Bikes go way too fast! Hibiki's clinging to Tsubasa for dear life, arms wrapped around the other girl's waist, a helmet that seems a touch too big for her not exactly making Hibiki feel safe. The only thing that makes this really acceptable is the fact that -

"Tachibana, where are we even going?" Tsubasa finally asks, after a good six, seven minutes of driving, wind whipping her voice past Hibiki's ears. Yeah, the only thing that's making Hibiki feel really safe right now is the fact that she's on Tsubasa's motorcycle.

"You wanted a quiet place to talk, right?" Hibiki confirms. "Just go to the school!"

Tsubasa seems a little curious about the *why* of that, but she doesn't question it. Though it does involve turning.

Hibiki really does *not* like the sensation of turning on a bike, but it's only a few more minutes until they're at the school, coming to a stop right in front of it. With it still closed for summer, it seems so quiet- it's obviously still being maintained, but there's nobody going in and out. And the school itself is both massive and completely empty.

Tsubasa kicks the bike to a stop, steps off of it and takes off her helmet, shakes her hair out. She looks like she could be in a magazine, just like that.

Hibiki's so busy staring that she nearly faceplants as she stumbles off the bike. Good thing she has a helmet on, huh. She tries patting down her hair, then gives up about five seconds in - her hair's a mess even at the best of times, and the helmet hasn't helped.

"The dojo's outside the gates, right? We can head over there," Hibiki offers, putting her helmet on one of the handlebars. "Kuriyo gave me the key," Hibiki explains, reaching into her hoodie pocket to show it off. Tsubasa stares blankly.

"... Uhm, Andou," Hibiki adds. When Tsubasa continues staring, Hibiki lifts her hand above her head, indicating her height. "My tall friend! Not as tall as you, but -"

"Ahhh," Tsubasa finally murmurs, taking a step forward. "Apologies, the only one of those three I remember that well is Itaba," Tsubasa explains, glancing over at the dojo.

They slip inside of the dojo without much issue, Hibiki's key working its magic. Which is to say she has to try it about five separate times, but she never said she was good at this kind of stuff. They duck their way inside, Tsubasa bowing to no one as they do, and Hibiki waving her hand around, socks sliding against the well-polished wooden floor.

"See? Nobody around. We have the place to our..."

"Tachibana, there's three sets of shoes here, counting ours."

Hibiki and Tsubasa blink at each other.

And there's a yell of "Shining Finger Sword!" and Kuriyo, still in her kendo uniform, lightly bopping the tip of her shinai into Hibiki's back. A move that clearly sends Hibiki sprawling with a "Tsubasa-san, she's too strong!"

Tsubasa continues blinking.

"Blegh, she's kind of a cold fish, huh," Kuriyo sighs as she reaches down to pull Hibiki back up. Hibiki, fully committed to the bit, springs back up with a roll of her shoulders as Kuriyo takes her facemask off. "What brings you guys here anyway, Bikki? I thought it was you and Mimi for a sec,"

"Oh, uh, Tsubasa-san and I were looking for a quiet place to hang out..." Hibiki explains, then realizes what she just said, clamps her hands over her mouth.

"-- Uh, please don't make out in the dojo," Kuriyo deadpans.

"We were not about to do anything other than talk," Tsubasa protests back. Kuriyo responds with a flat, 'do you think I was born yesterday' kind of look.

Hibiki, who often feels like she was born yesterday, pouts in response. "Kuriyooo, don't tease Tsubasa-san! We were about to have a serious conversation!"

Kuriyo waggles her eyebrows. Tsubasa, arms crossed, examines Kuriyo for a second. Hibiki pouts more. "Kuriyooo!"

"Look, if you and Tsubasa want some smoochbasa, don't let me stop you, just find somewhere else to do it."

"You're just talking like that because you got into Yumi's shoujo!"

"When was the last time I read a shoujo manga?"

"What about that one Yumi lent you!"

"That's josei. Totally different."

Hibiki leans forward, like she's about to pout right in Kuriyo's face, and Kuriyo steps to the side, practiced and with minimal movement, Hibiki stumbling for a second before faceplanting. With her still having both hands on her shinai, and not lifting her feet off the ground, the movement feels like it's right out of a training match, and Hibiki's a little impressed -

"Your foot dragged some," Tsubasa comments out of nowhere, reminding the both of them that she's actually part of this conversation. Kuriyo and Hibiki look over at her, at each other, then back at her.

"I mean, I was just messing with Bikki," Kuriyo starts. "My footwork's pretty good, usually."

Tsubasa leans back, arms still crossed, expression a little cocky. "You weren't showing it there," she answers back, and Hibiki quietly scoots to the side, glancing between the two of them.

"Wanna try me?" Kuriyo grins back, no malice in her voice but a lot of confidence. "Hey, Bikki, could you go find a shinai? And a uniform in your girlfriend's size?"

"She's not -"

"That bit's over, Bikki."

Hibiki feels like this has gotten very out of hand.

Especially a few minutes later, when she's helping Tsubasa put on the facemask, stepping out of the way once it's firmly in place. Kuriyo has hers back on, as well, is giving a few practice swings of her shinai.

"Come at me with whatever you've got, Tsu," Kuriyo says, and Hibiki wants to point out that Tsubasa's been fighting for her -

"Tsu?" Hibiki asks.

"Tsu?" Tsubasa parrots.

"Tsu," Kuriyo confirms. Hibiki and Tsubasa stare at her, and Kuriyo crosses her arms. "Look, let a girl have her shtick."

Tsubas and Hibiki share a look, and then Tsubasa tilts her head at Kuriyo. "You aren't very good at your shtick, Andou," Tsubasa says, almost apologetically. In response, Kuriyo whips her shinai against the floor.

"Says the girl with the easiest gimmick in the world!" Kuriyo gripes, and then she takes a step back, one foot in front of the other, both hands on her shinai, lifting it above her head.

"A high stance?" Tsubasa asks, looking over to Hibiki to confirm. All Hibiki can do is shrug in response, though.

Hibiki has no idea how kendo works, after all. She might be good at karate, and judo, but put something in her hands and she has no idea where to go with it. It's really fortunate that her gear works the way it does.

Tsubasa shrugs back, and takes a stance herself, shinai low in front of her. "Tachibana, you be the judge," Tsubasa asks, glancing over at Kuriyo for any kind of protest. When Kuriyo just shrugs in response, Tsubasa continues. "First hit wins."

"Uhm, okay!" Hibiki chirps, hurrying out of the drawn lines on the floor, symbolizing the - ring? Kuriyo's her friend, she really should know this sport better. But she doesn't. Well, she knows what a hit is, at least. Kind of self-explanatory.

"You two ready?" She asks, glancing between Kuriyo and Tsubasa, and when they both nod, she brings her hand down. "Round 1! Fight!!"

"There's only going to be one round, Tachibana," Tsubasa starts, and then Kuriyo yells, all at once, darting towards Tsubasa. Casually, Tsubasa pivots, bringing her shinai up to block Kuriyo's, the sound of wood on wood filling the dojo.

Tsubasa's movements are on another level, even an untrained person like Hibiki can realize that. Kuriyo jolts back, human things like surprise visible in her movements, and Tsubasa shoots off after her, sliding across the dojo floor without her feet even leaving the ground. She thrusts the shinai forward once, and Kuriyo jerks to the side, barely dodging, stumbling to regain her balance from the sudden pivot. When she brings her shinai down in response, Tsubasa slides to the side, only as much movement as she needs.

Tsubasa transitions from a low stance to a middle one, shinai directly in front of her, and then it whips from that middle position, right, down, and then back to the left, Tsubasa trying to slice it right into Kuriyo's side. It's a practiced, quick motion, and Kuriyo barely brings her shinai down to block it. There's an audible *smack*, and Hibiki can even see a few sticks of bamboo coming off of their shinai from the impact of the blow.

The two struggle against each other for a moment, pushing their weight into their shinai, and then they both take a step back. There's a moment where they circle each other, Hibiki realizing they've both gotten far more into this than they meant to, and then they're moving again. Kuriyo's stance is low, this time, and Tsubasa lifts her shinai in response, gripping it with only one hand. Kuriyo takes one step forward, then two, then darts forward, back foot actually leaving the ground -

No. Hibiki's more into this than she meant to be, too.

"You can do it, Tsubasa-san!"

Kuriyo thrusts her shinai forward, Tsubasa brings her shinai down, and there's the *thwack* of bamboo against the material of the uniforms. It takes Hibiki a second to recognize it, but Tsubasa's shinai is pressing down on Kuriyo's helmet, and Kuriyo's shinai is in the gap between Tsubasa's arm and waist. Tsubasa made contact. Kuriyo didn't.

"Uhm - head strike!" Hibiki raises her hand towards Tsubasa, wishing she had one of those flags she's pretty sure the refs do at kendo matches. Kuriyo and Tsubasa seem to get it anyway, at least. There's a moment's pause, and then they both take a step back, shinais back at their sides, bowing to each other.

And then Hibiki's rushing forward to hug Tsubasa, because that was really cool, and - it was really cool! Even if a kendo uniform isn't the nicest thing in the world to hug. There's so much actual armor, and the fabric itself is kind of weird. All the padding, too. Still, her arms are somewhere around Tsubasa's waist, and Tsubasa's looking down at her curiously, the glint in her eyes visible through the facemask.

"Enjoyed yourself, Tachibana?"

Kuriyo grumbles as she undoes her helmet, shakes her hair loose of the padding, the sweat. For such a short match, she looks like she just ran a marathon. "Damn, you're really good. Did you do kendo when you were here?"

"It should be obvious where I've honed my skills. Weren't you present for our battle with -"

Kuriyo raises her hand, clears her throat. "I try not to think about that night, you know?"

"... Understandable," Tsubasa allows, and Kuriyo lets it go at that. Hibiki blinks over at her, but doesn't ask about it.

A moment later, Tsubasa and Hibiki are stepping out of the dojo, Kuriyo sipping on some sports drink she must have brought with her. "I'm gonna do another few swings," she shrugs. "Sorry this wasn't the lover's hideout you guys were looking for," she adds, to another pout from Hibiki.

"Your strikes are quite powerful, but your forms could use improvement. Have you been doing kendo for long?" Tsubasa asks, and Hibiki pretends to get what most of that means.

Kuriyo, for her part, shrugs. "I wanted to do baseball, actually, when I was a kid. I was pretty good at it. But my parents got real pissy - you aren't gonna get a husband with a hobby like that! - so they wound up strongarming me into music school. Yanno, learn piano, look sad in a western style house, marry some doctor." She waves her hand as she explains it, a back-and-forth sort of motion that describes her feelings on the whole matter as 'eh.'

Tsubasa winces. "I'm very sorry," she says, sincerely, and Kuriyo laughs. "Dude, don't sweat it. I mean, I met Bikki and Mimi and the rest."

"Uhm, what are you gonna do about college, Kuriyo?" Hibiki pipes up. It's a story she's heard before, one that led to Yumi hugging Kuriyo tight and saying it was the saddest story in the whole wide world, but she's never really asked about. Where it's put Kuriyo, she guesses.

"What are *you* gonna do about it, Bikki?" Kuriyo shoots back, and Hibiki tilts her head, shrugs. "Yeah, that's about the size of it for me, too," Kuriyo agrees, sipping again on her drink. "Mimi and Ori might have plans, but you and me aren't really focused on that kind of stuff. Iunno. My parents have kinda given up, but not like there's any sports I'm good enough at these days. Could try being a coach, I guess. I'll figure something out."

They chat for a moment longer - Hibiki begs Kuriyo for money for the vending machine until Tsubasa offers to buy her lunch - and then they leave, Hibiki and Tsubasa swinging themselves back up onto the motorcycle.

"Take care, you two!" Kuriyo shouts after them, and Hibiki's halfway to waving back at her when Tsubasa kicks the bike into motion. Then she has to, uh, cling to Tsubasa again. Cling to Tsubasa a lot.

"Andou's quite an interesting girl!" Tsubasa calls back at Hibiki over her shoulder, and Hibiki's response is 'AHHH,' because she still isn't used to talking at these speeds, with the wind whipping in her face even through the helmet.

Tsubasa gets the 'yeah,' though. Probably. It's implied! And Tsubasa's usually good at predicting what she's going to say, just because of how long they've spent together.

That thought makes Hibiki snuggle into Tsubasa's back as they go.

* * *

 

A little while later, Hibiki and Tsubasa are - well, Hibiki is sitting down at a table in a McDonald's. Tsubasa is getting them food. To be exact, she's getting them chicken nuggets and fries, because neither of them are at the age where they're up for a McDonald's hamburger anymore. Ever since she started working out more, cleaning up her diet a bit, stuff like that makes Hibiki feel kinda gross.

But that's just red (well, grey, at a McDonald's) meat. Chicken nuggets? She's all about those.

"I feel like fifty might be too many," Tsubasa comments as she sits down across from Hibiki, opens the box of nuggets and just lets them fall down onto the tray between them. The fries come next, and Hibiki's reaching to grab one of those before they're even done falling. Just catches one in her palm.

"Don't worry about it, Tsubasa-san!" She grins as she chomps down on the fry, enjoying the 90% skin and salt, 10% actual potato contrast. "You just had that big workout with Kuriyo, so enjoy yourself!"

"And you?"

Hibiki pauses halfway through bringing a chicken nugget to her mouth, looks up at the ceiling, then laughs nervously. "Stress?"

"We did just have a large breakfast, Tachibana," Tsubasa chides. Hibiki feels very attacked right now.

"Wellll... uhm... uhmmmm..." Hibiki, nervous, glances around, then points to the entrance to the restaurant without looking. "Look over there!"

"Aloholla!" Yumi says in response, lifting her hand up for a high-five that Hibiki isn't going to give her, because Hibiki's too busy scooting back in her seat in shock.

"Instant transmission!?" Hibiki squawks. Yumi, for her part, proudly thumps her fist against her chest.

"Learned it from the Yardrats!"

"Wow! I think I might get that reference!"

"Itaba, you're free to sit down," Tsubasa finally comments, breaking up the banter between Hibiki and Yumi. Hibiki grins apologetically over at her as Yumi sits down, placing her bag down on the seat between her and Hibiki.

"Well, don't have to invite me twice," Yumi agrees, reaching over to steal a chicken nugget without asking. Eating and sitting down are basically the same thing at a restaurant, to be fair. "I was about to get just five-piece, anyway. I'm kinda broke!"

Hibiki leans forward, palms flat against the table. "Eh, Yumi, didn't you say your mom gave you a lot of money for your birthday the other day?"

"Welllllll..." Yumi trails off, then reaches into her bag, pulls out her cellphone, taps a few times, and -

"Woah!"

"Ta-da! A whole Napoleon!" Yumi declares, proudly displaying the mobile game to Hibiki.

Tsubasa tries peering over the table too, but Hibiki can tell, by the way she's looking at Yumi's phone, she has no idea what Yumi is talking about. Hibiki's happy for her, at least.

"I rolled a couple of times on that banner," Hibiki starts, nibbling on another chicken nugget, "but I just got the Valkyries..."

"Ooh, that's still really good! I actually don't even have those dumb rabbit girls," Yumi grins back, patting Hibiki on the shoulder. "-- Heyyy, psstt, Bikki, Tsubasa's giving us a 'what are you guys talking about' look." Yumi whispers in her ear, making Hibiki shoot up, glance over at Tsubasa.

"Oh, uh - wellll... it's a game!"

"Helpful, Bikki!"

"Helpful, Tachibana."

Yumi and Tsubasa share a look, Yumi does fingerguns over at her, and Tsubasa looks away, staring up at the ceiling. Even when these two share the exact same thought, they're still living in completely different worlds, Hibiki realizes.

"Well, you pay money to roll for characters, and. Uhm." Hibiki pauses, pulls out her own phone, and taps for a second.

"Nobunaga-chan!"

"Nobunaga was not a small girl."

Yumi laughs at that, giving Hibiki a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Some people just aren't bigbrained enough for the world of mobage. It's quite sad. Alas, poor Tsubasa! If only you could use your idol yen to pay for as many characters as you liked! Then you'd know true joy! That is the fate that would await you at the end of your journey!"

"What on earth are your speech patterns," Tsubasa deadpans back, and that makes both Hibiki and Yumi snicker. Tsubasa lets a small grin slip through as she leans back in her seat. "Did that cost you a lot of money, though? It seems like something of a waste."

Yumi gives a thumbs-up. "Oh, I literally just blew like, twenty-thousand yen."

"... I feel as if you may have a gambling addiction," Tsubasa shoots back.

Yumi, however, waves that concern off, hand flat against the table. "Nope! I'm just playing fast and loose with my money now before I'm a broke adult. You know, with rent."

"Aww, don't be like that, Yumi!" Hibiki pipes in from the side, leaning across to wrap her arms around her friend's waist. "You're smart, you'll figure something out!"

Yumi, with a sigh, reaches down to lightly tap her palm against Hibiki's head, part pat and part chop. "Bikki, I'm gonna be an animator. I'm gonna be broke."

Tsubasa lightly nibbles on a chicken nugget, tilts her head across the table at Yumi. "That's quite a difficult career choice, Itaba. For a number of reasons. Don't rush into it."

It's a chiding tone, but it just makes Yumi grin. "Yep. Life isn't an anime, you know! So it's gonna suck. But whenever I think about doing something that isn't, uh, that, I just get this dumb lump in my throat. Mom never shoulda let Sailor Moon babysit me. I became a Yumi who can only live by consuming and creating, the anime..."

"A Yumi crazed by the spiral of anime!"

"See, even I don't get that one, Bikki? But that's how I know it's a good reference."

As a reward, Yumi shoves a chicken nugget into Hibiki's mouth. Hibiki eats it, gratefully. Tsubasa looks on like she has no idea what on earth their dynamic is, then, finally, shakes her head. "I won't doubt your conviction. But don't back out halfway if you do decide to do it."

"-- yanno, I have to say, I never thought a rich and famous alumni would be telling me that it's fine to go be a broke animator."

Hibiki hugs Yumi from the side, a little tighter, reaches up to pat her back. Yumi feels like she's in a weird mood, right now, so Hibiki wants to help, and then -

"Yumi!" A voice suddenly rings out from the door to the restaurant! A whole three people look! The three being Tsubasa, Yumi, and Hibiki!

It's just Shiori. Hibiki lifts her hand to wave her over, and then Yumi hits her hand down, ducks her own head down before Shiori can spot her. "Ohhh, nooo..."

"Is something the matter, Itaba?" Tsubasa asks, and Yumi shushes her, too.

"Uh, long story, I'll tell you guys it some other time..." Yumi murmurs, scooting past Hibiki, poking curiously at the window next to their seat. "Do these open from the inside..." She mumbles, and when it turns out they do, she pushes it up, grabs her bag, and -

"See you guys!" She crawls out the window, gives a mock salute once she's standing back on solid ground, and then hurries off, just as Shiori comes running up. Tsubasa looks like she's about to say something, so Hibiki leans across the table, tries to shush her -

"She went out the window," Tsubasa explains, pointing at the open window. "If you hurry back out the front, you might cut her off."

"Tsubasa-san, you Judas!"

Shiori's already turning around though, grabbing a fry off their tray as she goes. "Thank you, Kazanari-senpai," Shiori shoots back, waving her hand, about to hurry after Yumi -

When Tsubasa tilts her head. "... I feel like a pattern is being broken here. I barely even remember your name."

"Okay, could you please diagram that joke, put it in a PDF, and email it to me? I'm a bit busy at the moment," Shiori answers back, and then she's off again, hurrying back out the door. Through the glass front of the restaurant, Hibiki and Tsubasa watch Shiori wrap her arms around a flailing Yumi's side, lift her up off the ground.

"... Uhm."

"Huh."

Hibiki and Tsubasa are both a bit perplexed - and very curious - so they clean off their tray, Hibiki pocketing the last of the nuggets before they walk out. Yumi and Shiori are still flailing at each other, right across from Tsubasa's parked bike.

"If Kuriyo wants to apologize, she can come grab me herself!"

"She doesn't know where you are! You aren't answering her texts!"

"Then she should text me where SHE is!"

"She has!"

Hibiki and Tsubasa watch the back and forth for a moment, Yumi kicking her feet in Shiori's arms, and then they share a glance. Finally, Hibiki steps forward, rubbing her fingers together nervously. "Uhmmm," she starts, one nervous tick sliding into another as she rubs the back of her head. "Kuriyo's over at the dojo, if you guys wanted to catch up with her..."

Yumi sighs and dislodges herself from Shiori's arms, brushing herself off as she does. "Fiiine, fine. If Bikki's getting in on this, I can go talk to her. But she better be sorry."

Tsubasa thinks on it for a second, then takes a step forward, tilting her head. "I don't mean to interrupt a private matter, and I have no idea what disagreement you two might be having, but Andou did seem rather muddled," she says at length, glancing over at Hibiki. Hibiki nods her agreement, quickly, trying to encourage Yumi along with her.

"-- Uhm, pardon, could you say Andou again?" Shiori asks, cupping her chin in her hand.

"... Andou?" Tsubasa blinks.

"Ah..." Shiori sighs, an odd, content look on her face. Hibiki grins and hops forward, points her fingers up at Shiori. "They had a kendo match too, and everything!" Hibiki adds, and Shiori sighs again, seemingly pleased with that mental image.

"Uhm. I'll just. Go, then?" Yumi asks, scooting off to the side, and all at once, Shiori reaches out after her.

"Oh no you don't, Yumi. We are going to take a nice, long, quiet walk up to the dojo, and then you and Kuriyo are going to have a very long conversation that I will politely stay out of."

"... Can I buy snacks..."

"You ate Bikki's food."

"How did you know that!?"

"She did, in fact, eat our food."

Shiori and Yumi glance over at Tsubasa, Yumi appalled at this lack of respect and loyalty, Shiori smug in her victory. "Thank you again, Kazanari-san," Shiori titters, leading Yumi along, almost out of frame as Hibiki and Tsubasa watch them go.

It's impressive, how fast Shiori can move while 'politely' pushing Yumi along with her.

* * *

 

The ride's a lot quieter this time, the sun starting to set, the roads going by slower. It's a lazy afternoon drive, and Hibiki soaks in the sunset atmosphere with Tsubasa, cuddling against her back as she holds onto her.

"Mm, Tachibana?" Tsubasa finally asks after minutes of silence. The breeze by Hibiki's ears is much lazier, this time, so it's easier to hear her. Hibiki soaks in her voice for a second before replying.

"Yeah, Tsubasa-san?"

Tsubasa lets quiet hang for a moment longer, leaning to gently bank them towards a turn. "Do you know what was going on back there? With Itaba and -"

"Terashima," Hibiki fills in, letting Tsubasa have her shtick. She doesn't have to call people by their given names if she doesn't want to. "Well. Shiori's gonna be going to college in America, so she tried to... Yumi and Kuriyo *like* each other, I think? So she tried to help them say it. But they wound up having a fight. It was about college and stuff, actually, I think. Shiori having something that big lined up, while Yumi was gonna do something risky and Kuriyo had no idea what she was gonna do. And they have arguments sometimes, but, Kuriyo was mad enough at her that she didn't get her a gift or anything for her birthday..."

"Ah," Tsubasa answers back, rolling her eyes. "That's surprisingly petty."

"When you like someone a lot, it's, uhm, easy to be petty, right? Because you know them so well, and you want them to be happy so badly," Hibiki answers back, glancing up at Tsubasa. "-- I mean, we've had arguments..." She offers, nervously, not wanting to dredge up bad memories.

Tsubasa seems to think it's funny, though. She laughs, hard enough that her head tilts back. Hibiki hasn't heard Tsubasa laugh much, before. It's a quiet sort of chuckle, deep in the back of her throat, a few proper laughs reaching her mouth. It honestly sounds a little stock-villainous, but in a way, that's a charm point. Especially since she knows Tsubasa wouldn't laugh at anything that'd be bad to laugh at.

"I feel as if our arguments are about more important matters," Tsubasa answers back, and Hibiki thinks about that for a long while as they drive back to her place.

* * *

It's late enough that Hibiki's mother offers to let Tsubasa stay the night. Tsubasa tries to politely refuse, but Hibiki's grandmother insists, and after knowing the woman for only half a day, Tsubasa knows she can't refuse Hibiki's grandmother.

They had dinner, too - fish, mostly, and Tsubasa seemed much more pleased with that than she had with breakfast. What a picky eater, Hibiki thinks to herself with a giggle.

They're up in Hibiki's room, now, an extra futon just barely fitting onto the floor, a few small bookshelves and a TV the only room-y things about the space. Hibiki had moved most of her proper possessions to her dorm room, didn't like the idea of lugging things back and forth every summer. It makes her room seem surprisingly bare, though.

Bare enough that she's glad for Tsubasa being here, a towel around her neck and an old, massively oversized t-shirt of Hibiki's hanging off of her. Sweatpants, too. Hibiki took the first bath, at Tsubasa's request, and it's nice. Just being all clean, here, with Tsubasa.

Weird thought. She scoots to the side on the floor, to make room for Tsubasa, then pauses, stands up to her feet. "Uhm, wanna look at the stars for a second?" Hibiki asks, indicating the little balcony at the side of her room.

"I don't see the harm," Tsubasa agrees, seemingly not quite tired enough to go straight to bed. Hibiki slides the small door open, and they step out on the balcony, barely enough room for the two of them, looking out over the city. Most of the lights are still on, so it's not very scenic, but Hibiki leans out over the side of the railing anyway, lets herself breathe in the night air.

"... What did you wanna talk to me about? When you first showed up here," Hibiki finally asks, after what feels like a day of them both distracting themselves from it.

Tsubasa must have felt the same way, because there's a sigh from her, half relief that they finally get to talk about it, half nervousness that she's being asked that directly. "I'm... nervous, I suppose," she finally admits. "Even with there being little trouble these past few weeks, my senses are still on high alert. You heard what Adam said to us."

Hope was crushed today. In your tomorrow, in your future, lies only despair.

They were just the words of a dying villain, but Hibiki's never been a person to write someone off that simply. Adam was a person - well, a sentient being - with his own thoughts and hopes, on some level. Terrible ones, but still. If he said that, then he was saying it for a reason. And he did seem to know much more about the world, the universe, than Hibiki did.

Tsubasa must feel the same way. If Germain, or Cagliostro, or Prelati were alive, they could ask them, but they weren't. It was up to them, now, and they didn't have any information to go off of, no real idea what Adam might have meant.

"We've been fighting for the past two years, Tachibana," Tsubasa sighs out, slumping forward against the railing. "Always being alert, knowing that danger could come at any time - I'm used to that. But this sword of Damocles hanging over my head is different. This feeling that things are about to get much, much worse than they ever have been."

That they're about to fight something much different than usual, that things are about to come to a head. Hibiki feels that way, too, and she soaks in that thought, even digs within her head for a bit to get what a sword of Damocles is. Then, finally, she waves her hand. "... All we can do is protect the same things we always have, Tsubasa-san," she murmurs, looking out over the city.

"This. I mean - look at Yumi, and Kuriyo, and Shiori. And my mom and grandma. They're scared too, aren't they? There's so many things out of their control, so many things they can't do anything about. Things could go wrong for them any time. But they get up and keep living, every day."

Hibiki sighs out, eyes going across the city, watching lights in windows go out as people decide to turn in for the night.

"We're lucky, Tsubasa-san. We have something to focus on, you know? Something we can change. Fighting noise, and alchemists, that might be scary, but at least we know it's something we can have a direct impact on. A normal person is way braver than us. They have all these things they can't control at all."

Tsubasa seems to be willing to listen, but Hibiki's rambling. There's quiet as she searches for some kind of conclusion, then settles on something she's always believed.

"The most a weak person like me can do is protect strong people like that, right? So no matter what happens, I'm gonna fight as hard as I can," she finally declares, glancing over at Tsubasa. "... Eheh, I say that, but I'm pretty scared, too."

"... That's a very astute observation, Tachibana," Tsubasa finally agrees, reaching down to put her hand on Hibiki's shoulder. "Though there is one thing I'd disagree with. I might be weak, but you are nothing of the sort."

"Ehhh? You're way stronger, Tsubasa-san! Look, lemme feel those muscles -" Hibiki laughs, reaching up to poke Tsubasa's arms, trying to play that sincere a compliment off as a joke, or a misunderstanding -

And then Tsubasa sweeps her into her arms, hugs her tight, so tightly that Hibiki feels a little squished against Tsubasa. She realizes that Tsubasa's literally holding her as close as she can, as hard as she can, that there's a bit of nervousness in her arms.

The last time things came to a head. When Tsubasa knew something big was approaching.

... The Concert had been some kind of test, hadn't it? Something that Tsubasa knew about in advance.

"I'm weak, because my goals aren't nearly as noble. I want to protect others, but more than that..." Tsubasa starts to say, stroking Hibiki's hair. Her fingers are deft, calloused, and Hibiki feels safer than she's felt in her entire life, she's pretty sure.

"... I want to protect you, Tachibana."

Hibiki - considers saying 'me too,' considers hugging Tsubasa back, but.

"Heyyy, Tsubasa-san."

"Mm?"

Hibiki takes a deep, quiet breath, grins up at her. "Close your eyes for a second, okay?"

Tsubasa looks confused, but does as ordered, letting her eyes drift shut.

And Hibiki leans very, very far up. Her lips press to Tsubasa's chin, first, a total miss, and then properly, to her lips. Tsubasa's lips are thin, a little pinched, maybe even chapped, but that's all very Tsubasa. She feels like she's kissing Tsubasa, right now. She can feel her familiar warmth against her, hear her voice in her ear, a deep, surprised gasp. Even smell her, though Tsubasa used her shampoo tonight, but that's nice in its own way.

It's a solid minute, maybe two, before Hibiki pulls away. She isn't a great kisser. She has no idea what to do with her tongue, or how to tilt her head, or anything like that. Their lips just stayed pressed together. But Hibiki feels warm, and brave, brave enough to continue talking. "... Eheh. I think I told a lie, back there. I didn't mention that I wanted to protect you, too," Hibiki grins.

Tsubasa smiles back, from ear to ear, and Hibiki lets that wash over her, all at once.

**Author's Note:**

> Even the life that  
> I’d not have been sorry to lose  
> just to meet you once,  
> now, having met, I think:  
> “I want it to last forever!”


End file.
